(Immage: AFP/Getty)
..Baltasar Garzón, Spain´s 54-year-old high court judge, the legal crusader who has dared to investigate the abuses of right-wing Latin American dictatorships, is a truly outstanding representative. Spain's and possibly the world´s most indefatigable and courageouswatchdog, the nemesis of drug lords, corrupt politicians and violent Basque separatists is now himself facing trial.
"Mr Garzón was charged yesterday with abusing his powers by launching Spain's first-ever investigation into Franco-era abuses – namely the forced disappearance of 114,000 victims on the losing Republican side of the war. In a 14-page ruling, Spanish Supreme Court investigating magistrate Luciano Varela charged Mr Garzón with recklessly violating a 1977 amnesty law that shielded members of the Franco regime from legal persecution.
"This is a sad day for justice," said Emilio Silva, president of the Association for the Recovery of Historic Memory, which has led a volunteer drive to exhume the mass graves of Republican victims. In an interview on national radio, Mr Silva blamed the decision to prosecute Mr Garzón on the ultra-conservative leanings of the Spanish Supreme Court, which, he said, had failed to evolve since Franco's time.
Mr Garzón is expected to face trial next month. If he is found guilty, he could be barred from the bench for up to 20 years.."
"We are truly scandalised," Giulia Tamayo, head of research for Amnesty International in Spain, said. "The UN Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly warned the Spanish government that amnesty laws were not applicable to crimes against humanity, but the Spanish authorities continue to hinder the victims' quest for justice and reparation. Now the only judge who wanted to abide by international law is being made to pay for it."
If found guilty, it is not only a sad day for justice. It is truly a tragedy for the entire world.
